ADT launches anti card-skimming product

Card skimming at automatic teller machines (ATMs) is a growing international problem. Figures from the European ATM Security Team, an ATM industry representative body, show a 32 per cent increase in reported card skimming incidents across Europe between 2005 and 2006. Losses from attacks against the ATM network exceeded Euro 306 million in 2006, with the vast majority of these attributed to card skimming.

ADT has entered into a strategic alliance with TMD Security, a leading anti-skimming technology company and developer of the Card Protection Kit + (CPK+) product range. The suite of CPK+ products available from ADT offers protection for both the people using ATMs and self service terminals (SSTs) such as those used for rail ticket purchases, as well as for the businesses that provide these facilities to their customers.

CPK+ solutions can protect ATMs and SSTs that use either motorised or non-motorised card readers. A variety of product options are available to protect against all types of card skimming attempt, including devices that are placed over the card entry slot, false fronts that cover the entire fascia of the ATM or SST and devices that are placed over the entrance to a lobby where ATMs or SSTs are located. In all cases the technology, which emits a signal to disrupt the skimming device, makes it impossible to successfully capture data from the card being used.

The technology offers a number of unique benefits. Whilst disabling the functionality of the skimming device, it allows the ATM or SST to operate normally, which means there is no disruption to customer service and no need for intervention by the service provider, resulting in lower machine downtime and reduced costs to the operator. Furthermore, CPK+ can send a silent alarm to the ATM or SST owner as soon as it registers that criminal activity is in progress. The range of products is also easy to install, no software adjustments are required to allow them to work with the ATM or SST and the solution is invisible from the outside of the machine.

"Money fraudulently withdrawn from ATMs is the preferred method for criminals to benefit from card skimming activity, and there are over 330,000 ATMs in Europe," says Ken Scotland, Vice President of Commercial Sales for ADT Europe, Middle East and Africa. "This new suite of products, combined with our experience in the finance and banking sector, will help tackle this problem and provide protection for both customers and service providers."

The family of CPK+ products is progressively being rolled out across Europe. They have already been successfully deployed in the UK for a number of well known banking groups.